Beluga Shipping was a German heavy-lift shipping company in the Hanseatic city of Bremen. It was a world market leader in heavy-lift shipping and also highly innovative in related fields. As such, it was the first to equip ships of its fleet with SkySails that can reduce fuel consumption by up to 5%[citation needed], and was the first company to send a heavy-lift ship from Europe to Asia along the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic Ocean rather than through the Suez Canal. The company was declared insolvent in March 2011, affecting 670 employees.[1]
Beluga Shipping
Founded
December 1995; 27 years ago (1995-12) in Bremen, Germany
Multipurpose heavy-lift cargo carrier MV Beluga Indication transports three mobile harbour cranes and several barges on the ocean
Beluga Shipping was founded in Bremen in December 1995 by entrepreneur Niels Stolberg, initially as a cargo operator. In 1998, the company acquired its first vessel, the multipurpose heavy-lift carrier MV Beluga Obsession. In 1999, the company built its first new vessel, the MV Werder Bremen.[2] Beluga Shipping grew significantly during the following years. By May 2010, 69 multipurpose heavy-lift carriers were in service for the company, with crane capacities reaching 1,400 tons in tandem usage (P-series). The fleet further increased to 70 units by end of 2010.[3] The company offered trade lane management but concentrated on tramp shipping, meaning each transport was organized individually according to the requirements of the cargo and the port of loading and destination.
Due to the global recession, from 2010 on Beluga Shipping relied increasingly on financial help by the US financial investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. Since 28 February 2011 developments indicated that Oaktree Capital Management, shareholder with 49.5%, wanted to take over the Beluga-Group. The German Bundeskartellamt confirmed this.[5]
On 3 March 2011, Niels Stolberg's retirement as CEO was announced and Oaktree appointee Roger Lliffe followed on his chair.[6] With Stolberg, a few other leading managers were replaced.[7]
Soon after Oaktree's takeover, the company filed for bankruptcy. Oaktree subsequently founded a new heavy-lift shipping company with part of the Beluga Fleet, the Hamburg-based Hansa Heavy Lift.
Business segmentsEdit
Core competence of Beluga Shipping was the sea transport of project and heavy-lift cargo. The group was judicially divided into three companies. Beluga Shipping GmbH formed a holding company and was responsible for the strategic planning, finance, marketing, human resources etc. Beluga Chartering GmbH provided for the affreightment of the Beluga fleet with cargo. The Beluga Fleet Management GmbH & Co. KG was responsible for the seagoing personnel, the nautical and technical management of the vessels as well as the newbuilding of vessels.
Research & InnovationEdit
As one of few companies in this sector, Beluga Shipping ran its own research and innovation department. Furthermore, Beluga Shipping was initiator of the public private partnership project Maritime Campus Elsfleth of which the Maritime Research Centre Elsfleth formed a part. The Maritime Campus Elsfleth aimed for the promotion of science, economy, education and research in the maritime sector. Beluga Shipping operated the world's first newly built vessel co-powered by wind using a towing kite system. The goal of MV Beluga Skysails was to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. It was first tested on the ship Beluga SkySails, launched December 15, 2007 in Hamburg, which was equipped with a sail that could reduce fuel consumption by 5.5% on parts of the route.[8] Further, a ship from the Beluga Group was the first to traverse the icy Northern Sea Route through the Arctic Ocean in the summer of 2009. The passage is 1/3 shorter compared to traversing through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. The company was recognised by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small to medium-sized business in his book Hidden Champions.
Criminal InvestigationEdit
In 2012, the public prosecutor in Bremen found that the Beluga Eternity (a ship from the Beluga E-Series) had transported rockets and 16 Russian tanks in July 2009 from the Ukrainian port of Oktyabrsk to Myanmar, while the latter was a military dictatorship and subject to an arms embargo of the EU. Similarly, the Beluga Endurance was found to have transported tanks and munition from Oktyabrsk to Mombasa for further transportation to the newly created state of South Sudan. However, in both cases the ship was leased at that time and knowledge of the operation on part of Beluga Shipping could not be proven. Niels Stolberg was cleared of these charges.[9] The Bremen public prosecutor referred the case of the Myanmar Shipment to the Federal Public Prosecutor in Karlsruhe, as it suspected involvement by personnel of Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst in the case. However, the Federal Public Prosecutor saw no grounds for hearing the case and referred it back to the Bremen public prosecutor.[10]
In February 2013, the Bremen public prosecutor opened a new process against Niels Stolberg and a Dutch shipping company for having engaged in credit fraud in the amount of 93 million Euro.[11] The companies are accused of having declared much higher production costs of ships to their banks and credit-granting institutions, thus raising the latter's share from 70% to 100%. If proven guilty, Stolberg could be imprisoned for up to three years.
Beluga Shipping is also accused of having manipulated accounts to improve the company's financial balance between 2006 and 2010. In 2009, the company claimed a transaction volume of 415 million Euro. This was partially achieved by claiming possession of much more power fuel than the entire shipping fleet could comprise.[12]
Social ResponsibilityEdit
The educational concept of Beluga Shipping was unique in the maritime business. On six training vessels and additional units of the Beluga fleet, the Sea Academy of Beluga Shipping offered up to 160 cadets a year of training. The training vessels were equipped with an additional deck including the accommodation for the cadets, a class room and a maritime library. In addition, Beluga Shipping financed several professorships at the University of Applied Sciences Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen. The international study course Shipping & Chartering (ISSC) was developed in cooperation with Beluga Shipping and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen. Social responsibility was a substantial part of the corporate philosophy. In response to the misery and destruction caused by the tsunami catastrophe in 2004, Beluga Shipping built up the "Beluga School for Life", a village in Thailand for orphans and other juvenile victims. The aims of the project were to provide shelter for the children in family-like accommodations and to provide education intended to break the circle of poverty.[13]
^Hansa Magazine volume 145, Hamburg 2008, p. 44-48, ISSN 0017-7504
^. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-11.
^History of Beluga Shipping November 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^Hermann Simon mentioned this company in his correspondent Book as an example of a "Hidden Champion" (Simon, Hermann: Hidden Champions of the 21st Century : Success Strategies of unknown World Market Leaders. London: Springer, 2009.- ISBN978-0-387-98147-5.)
^US-Investor plant die Übernahme von Beluga March 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Artikel der Nordwest-Zeitung. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
^Umstrukturierung durch Oaktree - Stolberg ist bei Bremer Beluga-Reederei raus. March 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine radiobremen.de, loaded at 3 March 2011.
^. www.weser-kurier.de. Archived from the original on 2011-03-05.
^Anklage gegen Ex-Reeder Niels Stolberg December 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^Social Responsibility of Beluga Shipping November 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beluga Shipping.
October 17, 2023
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Beluga Shipping was a German heavy lift shipping company in the Hanseatic city of Bremen It was a world market leader in heavy lift shipping and also highly innovative in related fields As such it was the first to equip ships of its fleet with SkySails that can reduce fuel consumption by up to 5 citation needed and was the first company to send a heavy lift ship from Europe to Asia along the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic Ocean rather than through the Suez Canal The company was declared insolvent in March 2011 affecting 670 employees 1 Beluga ShippingFoundedDecember 1995 27 years ago 1995 12 in Bremen GermanyFounderNiels Stolberg Contents 1 History 2 Business segments 3 Research amp Innovation 4 Criminal Investigation 5 Social Responsibility 6 Competitors in Germany 7 References 8 External linksHistory Edit nbsp Multipurpose heavy lift cargo carrier MV Beluga Indication transports three mobile harbour cranes and several barges on the oceanBeluga Shipping was founded in Bremen in December 1995 by entrepreneur Niels Stolberg initially as a cargo operator In 1998 the company acquired its first vessel the multipurpose heavy lift carrier MV Beluga Obsession In 1999 the company built its first new vessel the MV Werder Bremen 2 Beluga Shipping grew significantly during the following years By May 2010 69 multipurpose heavy lift carriers were in service for the company with crane capacities reaching 1 400 tons in tandem usage P series The fleet further increased to 70 units by end of 2010 3 The company offered trade lane management but concentrated on tramp shipping meaning each transport was organized individually according to the requirements of the cargo and the port of loading and destination Since 2001 Beluga Shipping expanded its global network By March 2009 the company ran twelve branch offices on five continents Rotterdam The Netherlands London United Kingdom Stavanger Norway Moscow Russia Mumbai India Shanghai and Beijing China Tokyo Japan Singapore Sydney Australia Sao Paulo Brazil and Houston United States 4 On the so called Teerhof close to the Weser River in Bremen the new headquarters of the company was inaugurated in June 2009 Due to the global recession from 2010 on Beluga Shipping relied increasingly on financial help by the US financial investment firm Oaktree Capital Management Since 28 February 2011 developments indicated that Oaktree Capital Management shareholder with 49 5 wanted to take over the Beluga Group The German Bundeskartellamt confirmed this 5 On 3 March 2011 Niels Stolberg s retirement as CEO was announced and Oaktree appointee Roger Lliffe followed on his chair 6 With Stolberg a few other leading managers were replaced 7 Soon after Oaktree s takeover the company filed for bankruptcy Oaktree subsequently founded a new heavy lift shipping company with part of the Beluga Fleet the Hamburg based Hansa Heavy Lift Business segments EditCore competence of Beluga Shipping was the sea transport of project and heavy lift cargo The group was judicially divided into three companies Beluga Shipping GmbH formed a holding company and was responsible for the strategic planning finance marketing human resources etc Beluga Chartering GmbH provided for the affreightment of the Beluga fleet with cargo The Beluga Fleet Management GmbH amp Co KG was responsible for the seagoing personnel the nautical and technical management of the vessels as well as the newbuilding of vessels Research amp Innovation EditAs one of few companies in this sector Beluga Shipping ran its own research and innovation department Furthermore Beluga Shipping was initiator of the public private partnership project Maritime Campus Elsfleth of which the Maritime Research Centre Elsfleth formed a part The Maritime Campus Elsfleth aimed for the promotion of science economy education and research in the maritime sector Beluga Shipping operated the world s first newly built vessel co powered by wind using a towing kite system The goal of MV Beluga Skysails was to reduce fuel consumption and emissions It was first tested on the ship Beluga SkySails launched December 15 2007 in Hamburg which was equipped with a sail that could reduce fuel consumption by 5 5 on parts of the route 8 Further a ship from the Beluga Group was the first to traverse the icy Northern Sea Route through the Arctic Ocean in the summer of 2009 The passage is 1 3 shorter compared to traversing through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal The company was recognised by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small to medium sized business in his book Hidden Champions Criminal Investigation EditIn 2012 the public prosecutor in Bremen found that the Beluga Eternity a ship from the Beluga E Series had transported rockets and 16 Russian tanks in July 2009 from the Ukrainian port of Oktyabrsk to Myanmar while the latter was a military dictatorship and subject to an arms embargo of the EU Similarly the Beluga Endurance was found to have transported tanks and munition from Oktyabrsk to Mombasa for further transportation to the newly created state of South Sudan However in both cases the ship was leased at that time and knowledge of the operation on part of Beluga Shipping could not be proven Niels Stolberg was cleared of these charges 9 The Bremen public prosecutor referred the case of the Myanmar Shipment to the Federal Public Prosecutor in Karlsruhe as it suspected involvement by personnel of Germany s Bundesnachrichtendienst in the case However the Federal Public Prosecutor saw no grounds for hearing the case and referred it back to the Bremen public prosecutor 10 In February 2013 the Bremen public prosecutor opened a new process against Niels Stolberg and a Dutch shipping company for having engaged in credit fraud in the amount of 93 million Euro 11 The companies are accused of having declared much higher production costs of ships to their banks and credit granting institutions thus raising the latter s share from 70 to 100 If proven guilty Stolberg could be imprisoned for up to three years Beluga Shipping is also accused of having manipulated accounts to improve the company s financial balance between 2006 and 2010 In 2009 the company claimed a transaction volume of 415 million Euro This was partially achieved by claiming possession of much more power fuel than the entire shipping fleet could comprise 12 Social Responsibility EditThe educational concept of Beluga Shipping was unique in the maritime business On six training vessels and additional units of the Beluga fleet the Sea Academy of Beluga Shipping offered up to 160 cadets a year of training The training vessels were equipped with an additional deck including the accommodation for the cadets a class room and a maritime library In addition Beluga Shipping financed several professorships at the University of Applied Sciences Oldenburg Ostfriesland Wilhelmshaven and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen The international study course Shipping amp Chartering ISSC was developed in cooperation with Beluga Shipping and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen Social responsibility was a substantial part of the corporate philosophy In response to the misery and destruction caused by the tsunami catastrophe in 2004 Beluga Shipping built up the Beluga School for Life a village in Thailand for orphans and other juvenile victims The aims of the project were to provide shelter for the children in family like accommodations and to provide education intended to break the circle of poverty 13 Competitors in Germany EditSchifffahrtskontor Altes Land GmbH amp Co KG Rickmers Reederei GmbH amp Cie kg BBC Chartering amp Logistic GmbH amp Co KG Harren amp Partner Ship Management GmbH amp Co KGReferences Edit Hansa Magazine volume 145 Hamburg 2008 p 44 48 ISSN 0017 7504 Mighty Ships MV Beluga Bremen Smithsonian Channel Archived from the original on 2013 12 13 Retrieved 2013 12 11 History of Beluga Shipping Archived November 26 2010 at the Wayback Machine Hermann Simon mentioned this company in his correspondent Book as an example of a Hidden Champion Simon Hermann Hidden Champions of the 21st Century Success Strategies of unknown World Market Leaders London Springer 2009 ISBN 978 0 387 98147 5 US Investor plant die Ubernahme von Beluga Archived March 5 2011 at the Wayback Machine Artikel der Nordwest Zeitung Retrieved 3 March 2011 Umstrukturierung durch Oaktree Stolberg ist bei Bremer Beluga Reederei raus Archived March 6 2011 at the Wayback Machine radiobremen de loaded at 3 March 2011 Niels Stolberg nicht mehr Beluga Chef WESER KURIER www weser kurier de Archived from the original on 2011 03 05 Home skysails info Anklage gegen Ex Reeder Niels Stolberg NDR de Regional Niedersachsen Oldenburg Ostfriesland Archived from the original on 2013 12 15 Retrieved 2013 12 11 Video Herr der Schiffe ARD Mediathek Reportage Dokumentation Archived from the original on 2013 12 13 Retrieved 2013 12 11 Der Herr der Schiffe ARD Documentary by Rainer Kahrs http www lt manager de niels stolberg wegen kreditbetrugs angeklagt Stolberg wegen Kreditbetrugs angeklagt Anklage gegen Ex Reeder Niels Stolberg Archived December 15 2013 at the Wayback Machine Social Responsibility of Beluga Shipping Archived November 26 2010 at the Wayback MachineExternal links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beluga Shipping Beluga Group Beluga School for Life Sea Academy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beluga Shipping amp oldid 1175065602, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
